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sql-servert-sql

How to turn one column of a table into a csv string in SQL Server without using a cursor

I want to return the results of select Column from Table into a comma separated string using SQL Server.

The column in question is rather large (nvarchar(2000)) so the solution has to be able to handle very large result values.

Solution 
  • DECLARE @result nvarchar(max)
SET @result = ''

SELECT @result = @result + [Column] + N','
FROM [TABLE]

--TODO: trim last ',' if you require

PRINT @result

    If Column can be null, then either exclude it first, or use ISNULL/COALESCE - otherwise a single NULL will break the entire sequence. It is more efficient to exclude it with a WHERE:

    SELECT @result = @result + [Column] + N','
FROM [TABLE]
WHERE [Column] IS NOT NULL